UP42 and Geoawesomeness Unveil 2024 Report on the Adoption of Earth Observation

Berlin, March 13. UP42, a leading geospatial developer platform and marketplace, together with Geoawesomeness, a long-established community about geospatial technologies, have released a special report unveiling insights into the adoption of Earth observation in 2024. This report, unveiled during an event on March 12th, is part of the EO Hub initiative, a journalistic collaboration between UP42 and Geoawesome.

“The EO Report echoes the sentiment that the growing versatility of Earth observation across different sectors is seeing significant growth, a trend we’re closely monitoring at Geoawesomeness,” said Aleks Buczkowski, Founder of Geoawesomeness. “EO is no longer a niche but a mainstream mode for enriching solutions to complex problems. At Geoawesomeness, we’re dedicated to amplifying awareness and championing EO’s transformative potential for a better world.”

Conducted between September and December 2023, UP42 and Geoawesomeness ran a comprehensive industry survey that drew responses from professionals around the globe. The report provides an in-depth analysis of emerging trends, challenges, and the evolving landscapeof EO data applications.

Key takeaways from the report include:

1. 77% of respondents use a combination of open and commercial data in their work

Open/free data sources, such as ESA’s SENTINEL program, are extremely important to the industry. However, many companies still turn to commercial data sources for higher resolution and revisit rates.

2. 20% of respondents said that data availability was the biggest industry challenge faced by their organization

Earth observation data is now easier to access than ever before, but there are still significant challenges holding us back.

3. The highest primary use case among respondents was decision-making support (26%), followed by solutions development (25%)

Though the report gathered answers from a broad cross-section of industry professionals, these were our two most common use cases. “The EO Hub Report 2024 is a welcome validation of how Earth observation data is enabling better decision-making,” said Jussi Koski, CPO at UP42. “We’re thrilled to see growing interest in the adoption of EO across various sectors, further affirming UP42’s role in enabling innovative solutions.”